Stuck With The Enemy
by Memora
Summary: "So this is what hell looks like, guess Lisbon was right all along." In which Jane and Red John are interrupted during their confrontation in 6x08 right before they get to the action, and they find themselves stuck in a void room with no explanation of how they ended up there, giving them more time to spend together than in the finale, and much more than they ever wanted to.


**So, I've been really busy lately, and while I couldn't find the time to write the next chapter of my other fic, I couldn't resist writing this oneshot when the idea popped into my mind xD **

**I hope you enjoy this, even if you wonder why you're reading it anyway, lol.**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"This can't be happening, I finally unmasked my mortal enemy and was about to finally kill him, and now I'm stuck in this weird zone with him and no weapon in sight" Patrick voiced in exasperation followed by a face palm.

"Why on earth are you talking like I'm not standing over here? Besides, _I_ was going to kill you, not vice versa, so perhaps you should be thankful there isn't a weapon here or you'd be the dead one" Tom rolled his eyes, not thrilled any more than Jane.

Jane obviously had another opinion.

"Like hell I was, I had the upper hand here!" he exclaimed angrily, gesturing wildly with his hand.

"You're deluded, it was game over and I won, admit it like a man" Tom responded full of pride.

"No, the 'game' is over all right, but _I_ won. I already knew you were alive, genius, you aren't fooling anyone," Jane paused "OK, maybe you fooled the people of California, but not me. Big mistake, Red John, faking your death. It was as fake as the word 'fake' is. I-"

Tom interrupted fuming. "See?! That damned tongue of yours was the problem all along, and-" But Jane held up his hand and raised his voice.

"I came here tricking you into thinking you led me into a trap, so that you'd show yourself like the desperate-for-attention being that you are" he finished with distaste.

"I was going to say that I told you to call me Tom before, especially now that you know who I am, but I take that back, you don't deserve a first name basis relationship" Red John told him venomously, a dark look in his eyes.

"Oh so now you're breaking our little 'friendship'? I suppose it's time to change my status to _'Available for other serial killer friendships' _" Jane mouthed sarcastically.

"The least you can do is let someone finish their points when they allowed you to sprout your nonsense. Clearly the manners you picked up along the way weren't enough, I guess one's upbringing dominates them in the end, in which it makes sense for a carnie like you" Tom admonished.

"Yeah? I wish I could blame it on _your_ upbringing too, but sadly we both know you were already twisted" Jane shot back.

"Of course an ignorant person like yourself would call what he doesn't understand 'twisted', since it's too deep for the likes of you to comprehend. You still talk too much about things you don't know" Tom said haughtily.

Jane snorted. "Thanks, but I'm glad that level of depth is hard to reach, wouldn't want a world full of psychopaths"

"Well, doesn't seem like either of us will change their mind, so back on track. You claim to have come prepared, when I clearly had the advantage over you"

Jane huffed in annoyance. "I had a few tricks up my sleeve actually, and you would've seen that if only _this_ didn't happen"

Tom crossed his arms and gave Jane a skeptical look "Prove it then. What did you have?"

Jane eyed him suspiciously as he answered "Why would I tell you? What if we went back and resumed what we're doing? Then you'll get to experience it firsthand"

"Suit yourself, I don't think that's happening anytime soon" McAllister told him and shrugged, settling for a comfortable place to sit in this void room.

The silence dragged on for a while as Jane stubbornly refused to risk his advantage, until he felt like this was endless. He sat down as far away as possible from Red John.

"So this is what hell looks like, guess Lisbon was right all along. It's odd though, I didn't know other people were such saints, thought it would be crowded here. Actually, maybe there are separate cells in hell where people wind up with those they ha-" Tom interrupted him.

"I know you have a fragile mental health, Patrick, but don't go crazy while we're stuck here" he sounded annoyed.

"I thought we were done with first names? In any case, I'll gladly take any other befitting synonym you have for this hell we're in" Jane sighed in exhaustion, while Tom rolled his eyes.

"Could you be any more dramatic?" He rubbed his temples.

"If I become you, then yes" he shot back, then added as an afterthought "You're right though, I'm going crazy, while else would I lounge in the same space as the man I swore to kill instead of throttling him instantly?"

"You're not thinking of starting a cat fight or something, are you? Because then, my friend, you're officially out of your mind" Tom replied wryly.

Jane only chuckled, which made this more unsettling.

Red John felt the need to equip "If you're really thinking it, then you might wanna remember that your experience in combat is as good as a kitten, in the face of a _tiger_ of all things"

That seemed to bring Jane back from spacing out. "A tiger? Nah, I wouldn't need a kitten, more like a _pigeon_, which hardly makes you a tiger"

Tom was a bit startled but covered it up quickly "What?"

Jane explained as if it was a simple fact "My winning card was a pigeon. I was going to use it against you, frighten you to distract you enough to pull the gun I planted out beforehand"

"A _pigeon_? What makes you think I'm afraid of a-" then he stopped as a memory flashed in his mind "Oh, that. _Look_, I'm not afraid of them, it's just they startle you a bit when the flap their wings suddenly" he felt the need to explain himself, trying to protect his ego, but of course Jane wouldn't let it slide.

"Face it, you, the biggest serial killer in California, have ornithophobia" Jane relayed the truth to him as if he was telling a teenage son he's adopted.

"Well, I don't care what you think it is, but I'll have you know I had back up, aside from Oscar of course, a nun who would enter and stab you if something went wrong" Tom bragged to restore his wounded pride.

"A _nun_? She probably would have more use praying for your damned soul than killing me" Jane mocked him.

"Look at you, got stuck here for a few hours and you've already become religious" Tom countered.

"Not really, but I won't rule out a customized hell made just for you. It's just too much a waste to let someone like you slip away" Jane told him coldly.

Red John smirked.

"You flatter me. But it's about time you face it, your family isn't coming back, neither any of those you lost during the game, and you won't be able to make it up to them no matter what, it doesn't matter where I go, that won't console them"

"No, but it would console _me_ alright" Jane stared at him evenly.

"So you can get on with your life? A life of running or rotting in prison? Or would you follow after me? I just hope you're not thinking you could go running back to Teresa's arms" he reminded him of what this would entail.

"I'm well aware of that, and I really don't care, so long I carry out my revenge. But I assure you that your concern for my relationship with Lisbon is duly noted" Jane finished with a smirk. Although it did bother him not to see Lisbon again, he wasn't admitting this to the man anytime soon.

"You're really obsessed with me" Red John commented in amusement.

"Is that the pot calling the kettle black?" Jane gave him a sharp sarcastic look.

"So you admit you're obsessed" Tom remarked.

"I'm not having this conversation. I can't believe I'm actually talking to you. I just wanted to get the job done and leave. Can I get any more cursed?" Jane complained as he buried his face in his hands.

"Oh shut up already, Patrick. I want this no more than you do, this was supposed to be my grand finale, but now it's like when you try to make a dramatic exit and the doorknob gets stuck" Tom scoffed.

Jane almost laughed, all things considered.

No one said anything for a while, and they both wandered off to their thoughts, glancing in each other's direction occasionally.

"You sure you don't wanna know how I figured out your list of names? We have plenty of time for answers" Red John offered at one point.

"Nope, told ya, not interested. You're worse than a child when it comes to your craving for attention. Tell you what, turn yourself in and you'll find plenty of ears eager to listen and ask you all the questions you're waiting for. _I'm_ not. I don't wanna understand you, I don't care what or how, as long as I kill you, that's all I need" Jane explained tiredly.

Tom was pissed, and he spat his words "Funny, with the way you act like a child and pull stunts all the time, there doesn't seem to be a person that craves attention more than you"

"What can I say? I'm a natural, attention follows me. You're just jealous. You claim to have built an empire, yet you seek approval when you should have plenty of goons giving it to you" Jane flashed him his famous grin.

"Sure, as natural as your _psychic powers_" Tom gave him a pointed look. Jane shrugged and kept quiet.

"I'm hungry" Jane complained a few minutes later.

Tom didn't see that coming. "Well, deal with it. Unless you want to turn cannibal"

"Ugh, no. I'm sure you've got the rottenest flesh of all people, I won't even be able to keep it down" Jane scrunched his face when he pictured the idea.

"That's your problem with the idea?" Tom raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"..."

"..."

Silence took over once again, until Jane spotted something next to McAllister.

"What's that to your right?" He asked him suspiciously.

Tom turned to look at it, and to his surprise found a chocolate bar. Jane seemed to figure it out and shot him an odd look.

"Why do you have that?" he asked warily.

"Why what? How come a serial killer could eat chocolates or why would he bring it to a confrontation?" he inquired smiling.

"Why do you have this when the weapon and pigeon vanished?" Jane elaborated. "Also, yes, it's odd you'd bring a chocolate bar with you. What if you meant to pull out a gun and pulled it out instead?"

Tom didn't seem bothered and kept smiling. "Then I'd tell you 'Take a break, take a KitKat'. Only it isn't, but I'm sure we can get around the slogan" he told Jane, who in turn felt unnerved. Hearing the once formidable enemy that haunted him say something like that was out of place.

Tom payed no mind to that though. "To answer your earlier question, I don't know how it got here. I should also tell you that it isn't mine and I was just messing with you. So, take a deep breath and relax"

Jane wasn't sure why this revelation made him feel better. He adjusted himself and spoke "Well, it's just that I wouldn't put anything past happening after today's events, but it makes sense. The way you looked at it a bit more than you would've if you knew it was there, the little distance that makes it unlikely to have slipped out of your pocket, it implies it isn't yours"

"Why do you always figure things out a bit late? I can be ahead of you even regarding a chocolate bar. Though hadn't it occurred to you that maybe these subtle hints were carefully planted to make you think this way? I could've feigned ignorance, slipped it out stealthily from my pocket and placed it there after you said you were hungry, which would ruin your theory" Tom said proudly.

Jane shook his head. "That isn't likely. Aside from the fact that none of our belongings came here with us, it would be counterproductive to claim it was your doing right after you said it wasn't yours. Not to mention, this would imply that you're actually trying to give me something to eat, or else you would've eaten it in front of me"

"It's not strange to contradict myself when I'm messing with you, what's to say that any of what I said is true? And yes, you could have it, why not? Come here and take it, Patrick" Red John grinned as he held the chocolate and reached out to Jane with it.

Jane clenched his jaw, his eyes yearning for the only piece of food around, but made no move towards it.

Tom raised an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling with amusement, and he taunted "What's the matter? I thought you're hungry" he cocked his head gestured to the chocolate. "Too much for you to feed off the hand that killed many? Such a shame"

"I won't take something that is possibly yours, I'd rather starve than accept your help" Jane replied solemnly.

"But you don't know whether it's really mine. You said none of our belongings came here. Then again, we don't know the nature of this place and its rules, maybe the size of something or its nature decides if it could be allowed here. My guess it's the nature" Tom said thoughtfully.

Jane shifted then stood up, walked to a wall in the void room or whatever it was, then placed his hands on it, trying to feel for anything. It wasn't fruitful so far, and he hissed "Today couldn't get any worse. This was supposed to be my awaited day"

Tom watched him keep going, even though that was one of the first things they did when they ended up here. Sighing, he pointed out "Who's to say it's still today? You may be estimating how much time has passed but, maybe this place has a different sense of time. It may well be a week"

"Or seeing as we're stuck here, we might be frozen in time" Jane added.

"You better hope so, or the FBI would've already swarmed the place" Tom reminded him.

"You mean _you_ better hope so, your plan of running away would be thrown out of the window, not that it would've happened, you would've been be dead anyway. So maybe you should hope they got there actually" Jane returned the sentiment.

"Did we even maintain a physical presence there? Are we returning to the same place if we did at all?" Tom wondered while tapping his chin. Jane felt panic threaten to take over as he considered this.

He couldn't be trapped here forever, when he could still feel hungry, with that man of all people, until they starve to death.

"There is no point in overthinking this, it won't change a thing" he said, more to himself than the other man.

"So let's cross our fingers and hope for the best?" Tom mocked. "My offer still stands if you'd like to hear something that would take your mind off this-"

"No. I said forget it" Jane flat out rejected.

A few more rounds around the walls -while carefully avoiding anywhere near Red John- proved useless. Tom used this as another opportunity to taunt Jane.

"What if the secret door you're looking for is behind my back?" he asked, enjoying himself.

Jane's gaze faltered for a second, betraying his dilemma. The thought had crossed his mind, even though it was very silly and unlikely. But what if there was something behind him indeed? It would be just like Tom to keep it away from Jane to further relish in his misery, there was already a chocolate that appeared there.

"Relax Pat, you're easy to mess with. Despite what you think, I'm equally eager to leave as soon as possible, so nothing is behind my back" Tom reassured him.

No one said a thing after that, and time passed by, until Jane's stomach was grumbling.

Tom opened the chocolate bar, broke it into half, and looked at Jane, waiting.

Running a hand through his curls, Jane let out a frustrated sigh, then he slumped down next to Red John defeatedly, and took a half. He told himself that he wasn't giving up, just that he must outlive Red John at least. He allowed himself no more thinking about this surreal situation.

"You said I wouldn't get to throttle you, but why didn't _you_ throttle me?" Jane asked after swallowing a bite.

Tom shrugged while looking at his half. "I just like to keep my options open, especially since I don't know how long we might stay here. Some interesting company is better than a rotting corpse"

Jane nodded, adjusting himself to sit more comfortably, then asked "So, how did you know the list of names?"

"Because I'm a _real_ psychic" Tom replied with a sly expression.

Jane moaned in frustration and banged his head on the wall behind him, regretting that he asked.


End file.
